


Life Is So Wonderful

by aksarah



Series: On Top Of The Universe [1]
Category: Steam Powered Giraffe
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 18:51:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/916791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aksarah/pseuds/aksarah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 1979, Rabbit and Spine are hit with an Anti-Confetti Beam Cannon and The Jon struggles to deal with the consequences while Walter Robotics undergoes tough financial times and the two former-bots learn to live with their new lot in life. Human!SpineXHumanFemale!Rabbit</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is in NO WAY about what you'd think of as Spabbit or Bennett twincest! Sorry to disappoint! :/

May 28th, 1979, San Diego, California

Someone leaned on Walter Manor’s front doorbell for a good thirty seconds. When Norman Becile at last opened the door, the ring-and-runner was gone, but something white and fluttering caught his attention. A note made from cellophane taped-letters stuck to the door with thumb tacks read “deer R0butts. We HaVE youR PA Walter 5. 2143 E Belt St. WAREhouse. BRING $1,000,000.00 or he DIEs”. Norman informed The Spine and soon all three automatons were bundled into a black 1957 Chevrolet and barreling toward the aforementioned location.

                Rabbit barged into the warehouse clumsily; his saw blade spinning, having just cut through a sizable chain and padlock. There in the middle of the abandoned space sat Peter Walter V, or “Five” as the robots liked to call him. He was bound to a chair by rope and a gag stifled his attempts to shout a warning to them. From the shadows a man in a grey jumpsuit wearing dark goggles stepped forward and leveled a sizable gun-looking apparatus at them. Wires and tubing ran from this to a large satchel that seemed to weigh him down a considerable amount as his movements were slow and his footsteps plodding. “Thank you for coming!” he shouted, drawing their attention. The weapon glowed pinkish and small, brightly colored points of light seemed to be generated in the air then sucked into the satchel. The barrel of the gun glowed with a similar light and in a split second, it fired.

It seemed its wielder was almost as surprised as those he was attacking that the beam cannon had as much force as it did. It expanded from the barrel into a radius of about four feet and struck Rabbit in the chest as he dove bravely in front of The Spine. His action was intended to save his automaton friend from being struck, but the path was just too wide. It enveloped him, pushing him back to collide with The Spine and both robots were pushed into the far wall, crashing into a heap as the blast terminated. The weapon had a surprising kick and the wielder stumbled backwards a step. He growled in frustration but before he could aim it at the remaining robot, The Jon was on him. He leapt across the room, wrenched the weapon from the wielder's arms and smashed it down on the ground where it snapped in half. A bright, twinkling explosion like fireworks or fairies dying illuminated The Jon’s usually happy face as he snarled, grabbed the wielder’s right arm, spun him around and efficiently flipped him over, pinning him to the ground with a firm knee to the back.

32-year-old Peter Walter V struggled in his bonds, shouting through the gag to The Jon. He didn’t have to hear his words to understand what he had to do. The Jon tore at the sleeve of the wielder’s jumpsuit and using the fabric tied his hands and feet tightly then ran to his master and released him.

“Good work, Jon!” Peter cheered and dashed across the room, yelling over his shoulder to him as he went. “Keep an eye on that lunatic, I’ll see to the others!” The wielder was silent; his eyes were fixed on the destroyed beam cannon to his left. The Jon picked up the stock end and noticed an insignia with the letters BI embossed into the metal. He gripped it tightly and scowled at the wielder. He trembled slightly with anger.

Peter Walter fell to his knees before the two crumpled and unmoving figures on the far side of the room. He gasped and froze in place for a moment before reaching out and touching Rabbit’s back. “Oh my...” he whispered.

“Are they ok?” The Jon shouted anxiously.

Peter grasped Rabbit’s shoulder and pulled, rolling him off of the Spine. “Oh! Holy mother of...” They were breathing. They hadn’t hit the wall very hard. It looked as though they were just sleeping. But something was very, very wrong. Peter just could not believe his eyes. “They’re not robots!”

“WHAT?” The Jon cried. He easily picked the wielder up like a sack of potatoes and bounded across the room with him. He dumped him unceremoniously a few feet before the forms of his friends. “If they’re not robots, then...?” The Jon stared down at Peter. He was holding the wrist of a pretty young brunette woman with dark skin who was wearing Rabbit’s clothes. A pale, thin, young man with black hair was lying slightly under the woman and wearing The Spine’s clothes. The Jon shook his head. “That’s not right,” he said firmly. “Not right at all. Where are Rabbit and The Spine, Five?”

Peter shook his head and laughed lightly. “Jon, these are they!”

“No. These are _humans_.”

Satisfied that the two were breathing and their hearts were beating regularly, Peter looked up at The Jon then then over to the wielder. “This was the intended effect, wasn’t it?”

“The anti-confetti beam cannon was a complete success!” The wielder laughed a deranged sort of giggle which petered out into a sort of manic sob. “But I missed the most important one...”

“Anti-confetti...cannon?” The Jon whispered.

The wielder sobbed “If The Jon hadn’t destroyed it I would have...”

Peter leapt to his feet and charged at him, but The Jon stepped in front of him. “No, Five, don’t! He wants you to do that! We’re not like _them_!”

                The wielder used the distraction to wriggle on the ground and pull a small device from his pocket. With another sickening laugh he pressed a button and disappeared in a burst of green light. Small pieces of green-and-white-striped candy were left spinning in his place.

 

.x.

In a few hours, they had transported The Spine and Rabbit back to Walter Manor and Walter Girl Barbara and Peter Walter V set them up in the hospital rooms in the basement usually used to treat injuries to humans incurred while working on robots. The Jon moved obsessively back and forth from room to room, checking on both of them, not wanting either of them to wake up alone. Barbara sat with Rabbit and Peter sat with The Spine. Rabbit was the first to wake.

When he came to, it was clear he understood something was off. He had trouble speaking and swallowing. His eyes darted around the room and he blinked and squinted frequently. Barbara had been instructed to give him as little information as possible so as not to frighten him, but she was not prepared for how he would react to the feeling of being human.

Rabbit stuttered. “Wh-whe-wha-wha what ha-ha... ha-ppened to me. What ha-p-pened. Where i-is th’ Spi-spine. Where is he wha-wha-what hap-ppened to me!” His breaths became shallower and faster and before Barbara knew it, Rabbit was having a panic attack. All she could do was administer a shot of diazepam and try to soothe him the best she could. The shot initially served to heighten the frenzy, but as the sedative took effect he quickly relaxed.

“It’s ok, Rabbit,” Barbara soothed. “The Spine is ok. You did good. He’s fine. You’re fine. Things are a little weird, but everyone is fine.”

The Jon heard the commotion and darted back into the room. Barbara grimaced, fearing he would just add to the confusion, but for once, this was not to be the case.

“Rabbit!” The Jon cried. “You’re awake!” He fell to his knees by the hospital bed and took his friend’s hand in his. Rabbit rolled his head over and smiled weakly but his eyes quickly looked to the hands--one hard, gleaming metal, the other soft, copper-colored flesh--and he pouted. Tears sprouted from his mismatched green and blue eyes. “The. Jon. Wha-hap-ppend to me?” he asked, his words still coming out at a stutter.

“The bad man hit you and Spine with a laser and you turned into a girl!” he chimed, grinning like a lunatic.

“Spine?”

“Yeah! He’s a boy! A real boy!”

Rabbit took a stuttering gasp and let it out slowly. “A real boy?” he said slowly. “A hu-man?”

“Yep!”

“An’ I’m a... _girl_?”

The Jon grinned wider if that was even possible and laughed. “Yep! All these years I never knew that Rabbit was a _she_!”

Rabbit squeezed The Jon’s gold-plated metal hand and chuckled softly. “That’s cra-zy. This is crazy. I’m a ‘she’...” the former robot repeated and relaxed. “An’ The Spine’s ok?”

Barbara took the young woman’s other hand “Don’t worry, Rabbit. We’re here for you.”

Rabbit rolled her head over to the right and looked at Barbara. She squeezed her hand and chuckled again. “That feels warm,” she said. “That feels... I feel... So weird.” Rabbit smiled.

Barbara squeezed back. “I gave you some Valium to relax so you’ll feel weird for a little while. It’ll wear off soon, though.”

“Ok,” she said dreamily and rolled her head back to the left. “Jon, go tell Spine t’come see me.”

“Ok, Rabbit,” he agreed and skipped out of the room.

Rabbit tried to push herself up against the pillows but Barbara had to help her to sit up. “This is so weird,” she said and felt her bare arms, running her hands over the skin and up to touch her face. She laughed deliriously.

“Now, Rabbit,” Barbara put her hand on her shoulder. “There’s probably some things we need to talk about. You know... _Lady_ things.”

The young woman rolled her head to one side and gave her a knowing look. “Barbara, I’ll be 84 this year,” she said. “I’ve been pro- well, I _was_ programmed with everything ya need ta know about human anatomy, girls included, so...” She made a face and her hands moved down and around to investigate. “Oh, does this mean I’m gonna have a _cycle_?” she groaned and made a disgusted face.

Barbara had to laugh at that. “I suppose so. We should probably have you checked out, though.”

Rabbit nodded with a serious look that soon melted into giggles again. “So weird!” She bent at the waist and stretched her arms to touch her toes. “Toes!” she cried happily and buried her face in the blanket that covered her legs, shaking with laughter.

From across the hall a man’s voice shouted excitedly and Barbara grinned. “I think he’s awake.”

Soon, the shouts and laughter stopped and he called her name.

“Rabbit? Rabbit!!” The Spine’s smooth, deep, human voice shouted and his bare feet slapped on the polished concrete floor as he ran into her room. “Rabbit...?” He was pale, tall and thin. His tie had been removed and his shirt was unbuttoned to the third button. He was breathing heavily and his cheeks were flushed.

Quickly, Rabbit awkwardly sat up and beamed at him. “Hi, The Spine!”

“Y-you’re...”

“Oh, wow, look at _you_!” she squealed. “We’re human, Spine!”

“Yeah, but you’re...” He raised a brow and pointed at her.

“A girl! That’s weird, right? And it looks like I might also be Indian, I’m not sure.” She held out her bare arms in front of her and turned them over, noting how much darker they were than Barbara’s ghostly white and The Spine’s pale pink.

“Yeah...” His cheeks went brighter. “Are you ok?”

“Think so. You?”

He nodded and The Jon bounded up behind him, hugging him around the middle. “Yay! We’re ok!”

The Spine looked down on him with a worried look then back to Rabbit who was playing with her hair and laughing in a drug-induced haze. The Spine frowned. 


	2. Chapter 2

                At three in the morning, The Jon wandered the halls of Walter Manor in a daze. He stopped every once in awhile and craned his neck around, listening down this hallway then that. He looked into each room he passed, tip-toeing along in his converse sneakers. “Silence...” he hissed. “Sssssilencccccce.” He sprang up the stairs and tip-toed down the fourth floor hall, poking his head into The Spine’s neat, spare room. He was lying on his bed fully clothed but sleeping lightly; his breath came at regular intervals. The Jon nodded his head and proceeded to the next door. Rabbit’s room was messy and cluttered with stuff scattered everywhere. She was curled up under the covers of the Victorian four-poster bed and snoring lightly. Her dark brown hair and a brown foot stuck out. The Jon nodded again and for continuity’s sake tiptoed to his own room. It was dusty, forgotten. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d stepped inside. He nodded toward an unmade twin bed with a clown-face-shaped headboard and headed back to the stairs. They were all asleep; Wanda, Norman and Peter as well.

                The Jon continued down to the basement and quietly hummed the theme from Mission Impossible as he proceeded to infiltrate every room. After searching a dozen or so, he at last came upon what he was looking for and stopped humming. The Jon picked up the broken halves, the stock and barrel of the so-called “Anti-Confetti Beam Cannon” and tucked them and the attached satchel under his right arm. With his left, he withdrew a feather from his top hat and dramatically waved it around in a circle. When nothing happened, he frowned and brought it close to examine it. “Oh! Silly me!” he laughed, replaced it and withdrew another one that looked exactly the same. “Now,” he said confidently, performed the same motion and disappeared in a pinkish flash. Three grilled cheese sandwiches spun in the air for a moment in his wake then fell to the floor.

 

               He appeared in the strangest places, which, when it came to Kazooland, were often the most acceptable. This time, he stood on the lip of a fountain in the heart of Biscuit Town striking a pose with one foot on the lip, the other arched behind him. He tipped his hat to the crowd and grinned. The crowd applauded appreciatively at his form which exactly matched a statue of him, spitting water from its mouth in the center of the fountain. The Jon bowed, gripped the broken weapon under his arm tightly, hopped down and made his way to Town Hall.

                At the moment he arrived at the fountain, bureaucrats and politicians were alerted to The Jon’s presence and started swarming the building. With a half-lidded look of importance and swagger, The Jon practically swam through the bodies, making his way to the Mayor’s office. Two badger-men opened the door and kept the crowd at bay with their immense claws and steely looks. The door closed behind him and The Jon was greeted by his heads of staff: the ministers of various municipal committees such as the Queen of Refuse, Viscount of Public Safety, Psychopomp of Parade Streamers and the Dutchess of Earl Grey Tea were all assembled. They greeted him. The Jon put the broken Anti-Confetti Cannon on his desk and took a seat beside it on folded legs. “Gentlepeople,” he began. “There has been an incident.”

                The Viscount of Public Safety nodded. “I believe we are working on the same matter, Major The Jon. A few days ago a man was arrested attempting to steal files from your office. He had traces of Walter Manor on his person.” The Viscount handed him a photo of the Wielder.

                “That guy...” He nodded back. “Indeed, Viscount. This is the same man. And this is his foul weapon with which he hurt my friends.”

                The Dutchess of Earl Grey Tea gasped, the cup she held in her hand clinked in its saucer. “Was an attempt made on your life, Mayor?”

                “It could well be,” The Jon frowned. “I escaped harm, but my friends Rabbit and The Spine were turned into humans by this, what he called an ‘Anti-Confetti Beam Cannon’.”

                The Queen of Refuse examined it briefly. “It has Becile’s mark on it! This could mean...!”

                “Or it could _not_ ,” The Jon stressed. “Viscount, has any intelligence been gathered from this man that you have in your custody?:

“Nothing yet, Mayor. He is tight-lipped.”

“Then we do not know if it was his aim to assassinate me, or if this is merely more of the same back-and-forth our Walter Robotics has suffered at the hands of Becile Industries from day one. We cannot leap to such dangerous conclusions!” The Jon pounded his metal fist on the desk for emphasis. “I will not be responsible for a war started over a petty dispute between scientists.”

                “But The Jon, Asininia has long had its eye on New Pieland...” The Dutchess argued.

                “I am more than aware of that, Dutchess. Again, until it is clear that this was an assassination attempt (which even if he had been successful would have served only to turn me human and lock me out of Kazooland, not kill me) we cannot let assumptions lead to loss of life and such hardships as we have known in the past. Peace is of the utmost importance.”

                The ministers all nodded their heads. The Psychopomp of Parade Streamers solemnly pulled the cord on a small cracker in the shape of a wine bottle to voice his agreement.

                “See what you can learn from this man you have. Keep me informed. In the meantime,” The Jon said, jumping off the desk. He patted the satchel of the broken weapon he had brought with him. “I have a special favor to ask...”

 

.x.

                On that first day, the new humans enjoyed many firsts: the first meal they could taste and the first sleep being the most exciting. When she awoke in her room on the second day, Rabbit was confused and panicked for a moment before remembering what had happened. She lay very still and tried to wrap her brain around a strange memory. Finally, a smile stretched from ear to ear and she leapt out of bed. Wanda had given her one of her mother’s old flannel nightgowns and Rabbit stumbled and tripped over it as she hurried from the room. She slammed into the doorframe and laughed as the pain shot through her shoulder. “Spine! Spine!” she cried and raced to his room further down the hall. “Spine! Wake up!” she barged into his room and jumped on the bed as he was just waking. “Wake up wake up wake up!”

                “Rabbit? What on Earth...?” he grumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was wearing a pair of Peter Walter V’s blue striped pajamas. His hair was mussed and he looked tired.

                “Spine! I think I had a dream!” she shouted.

                He stared at her in disbelief. “You did?”

                “I think so. I was in the manor but it wasn’t the manor. And I was trying to get down to the labs but the stairs were all weird and the halls were made of stone like in a castle and I would jump down the stairs but when I thought I’d come out on the right floor I’d be in some other weird place.” She noticed he was very still and unsmiling. “How about you, Spine?”

                “I don’t think so.”

                “Oh.” Crestfallen, Rabbit swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. “Well, maybe tomorrow you’ll have one!” she said positively.

                “Yeah, maybe.”

                Rabbit frowned. “Ok. Well, let’s go get some breakfast.”

                The Spine ran a hand through his hair and stared at the covers. “I’ll be down later. You go ahead.”

                Reluctantly, Rabbit agreed and left him there, looking back over her shoulder before she ducked out of the room and went in search of breakfast.

 

.x.

                The week passed in similar fashion. Rabbit was energetic and excited by all the new things she experienced. The Jon shared her excitement, suggesting new things to do and playing games with her until she was exhausted and often fell asleep on a couch, leaning against his boiler. The Jon was happy that they were alive and together.

                The Spine, however, in the few instances when he was with them, was sullen, quiet, and distant. He would nod or mutter if pressed for a response. Often, after only a few minutes of interaction, he would excuse himself and retire to his room. The Jon didn’t seem to notice, having plenty of distraction with the attention paid to him by Rabbit, but the young woman’s patience was wearing thing. On the one-week anniversary of their transformation, the three were seated in one of the drawing rooms. Rabbit and The Jon were sitting on the floor, playing with small crocheted dolls. Rabbit wore a loose-fitting red sweater with a large neck which hung off one of her shoulders and a pair of black shorts. Her feet were bare as usual. The Spine sat in a large wing-back chair facing away from them and read a book. He was dressed in black jeans and a white button-down shirt with the collar open. Both of their clothes were hand-me-downs from Peter and Wanda. Rabbit suddenly suggested that they have party to celebrate one week of being human and The Spine scoffed it off, saying it was a terrible idea. Rabbit leapt to her feet. “Alright,” she shouted. “If you think it’s such a stupid idea...”

                “I didn’t say it was stupid, I said it was terrible.”

                “But why? Spine, it’ll be fun!”

                “Sure,” he said ruefully, closed his book, stood up and started to leave the room. “You have fun, Rabbit.”

                Irate, the young woman jumped up and ran in front of him, blocking his path. He tried to move around her and she side-stepped from left to right. His stoic features contorted into a picture of frustration as he tried to get around her. Finally, The Spine had to push Rabbit out of the way, shouting “Stop it, just leave me alone!” before hurrying off.

                Rabbit regained her footing and watched him go, mouth agape. It didn’t take long for her to find her words. “Fine! I _will_!” she shouted. “Go sulk in your stupid room, you jerk!”

                His footsteps echoed down the hall and pounded up the stairs. Rabbit turned and screamed at the top of her lungs in anger and frustration. “Jerk!!” Her hands were clenched tightly into fists and she panted as the anger coursed through her. “What the hell is this feeling?” she muttered. “I feel like I want to tear his head off. Like I’m on fire!” Then she saw The Jon, sitting stock-still on the carpet, clutching the little yarn doll that resembled a certain copper automaton. His metal brows were arched and he sniffled softly.

                “Oh, Jon, I’m sorry.” Rabbit rushed down to his side and gave him a hug which was not returned. “I’m sorry, I just... He made me so mad. I was angry. I _am_ angry. I don’t know what to do about it, but he’s just being such a...”

                The Jon surprised her with how serious and even his speech sounded. “Please talk to him.”

                Rabbit released him and his blue photoreceptors looked into her own mismatched eyes. He picked up another yarn doll with a grey face and a tiny hat on its head and clutched the both of them to his chest. “It was never like this before. When we argued it was over quickly and we were laughing in no time. No one ever said those kinds of things to each other.”

                “I’m so sorry, The J-j-jon,” she stuttered, surprising herself. “I-I didn’t mean...”

                “ _Please_ talk to him, Rabbit!” The Jon begged her. “I don’t want it to be like this!”

                “But he doesn’t want to talk to _me_!”

                “He does! He’s just being a stupid-head about it.” Rabbit shook her head, but The Jon was insistent. “Please do this for me, Rabbit. You’re the only one who can.”


	3. Chapter 3

                Rabbit trudged up the stairs, stepping lightly and slowly, her bare feet feeling the worn treads and noticing for the first time how threadbare everything was: the carpet, the wood under it where it had worn through, the railings with their chipped paint, the dinginess of the wallpaper and the cobwebs and dust on picture frames that lined many of the halls.

On the fourth floor they had their bedrooms. At the top of the stairs was The Spine’s room, then Rabbit’s own room, then The Jon’s room. She stood at the top of the stairs and willed herself to walk to his door and not continue on to her own room where she could bury herself in the covers and try to let the rage wash away in blissful sleep. Maybe he was sleeping right now. “Maybe he’s busy being a jerk-face,” she muttered under her breath, composed herself and knocked on his door.

                “Spine. It’s me. We need to talk.”

                No answer.

                “Spine. The Jon sent me. He wants me to talk to you.”

                “Go away.”

                Her blood boiled but she clenched her jaw tightly and thought of the sad look on The Jon’s face before spitting out “No.”

                “Leave me alone.”

                “That’s it, I’m coming in!” she burst in the room and was not surprised to see a lump that was The Spine’s curled-up form under the covers of his bed, facing the windows. The Spine’s room was neat and tidy. The drapes were open and California sunshine filtered in through the windows. A light breeze made the air fresh and inviting. She glared at the lump and stomped up to the opposite side of the bed. “Come on, Spine, cut it out. You’re really tickin’ me off.”

                His voice was muffled by the comforter he had tucked over his head. “That’s the idea.”

                “What?” she cried. “Why?”

                “Just go away.”

                “No.” Rabbit folded her arms and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, her back to him. “The Jon said I can’t come back down until I’ve straightened you out,” she paraphrased. “So you better tell me what bug crawled up your butt, ‘cause I’m not leavin’ until ya do.” There was an awful silence again and Rabbit frowned and bit her lip. “I mean it, Spine. You better start talkin’!”

                After a short while she felt him move and stole a glance over her shoulder to see him sit up slowly, clutching the covers around himself. He sighed and his voice came out at a whisper. “I can’t say anything, Rabbit. If I do...”

                Rabbit gasped lightly and put her hand to her chest. Something about the way his shoulders were slumped and how he sounded and the words he chose sent a shiver down her back. “Please?” she asked, dropping her previously acerbic tone.

                “Just _go_ , please! I can’t...” he begged her.

                Rabbit turned back to face the door again as if the sight of him was painful to her. “No! Spine, what’s wrong?”

                “It’s _you_ , Rabbit.”

                The color fell from her face and she trembled. “Me? Wha-what did I do? Did I make you upset?”

                “Just go.”

                “Spine, no! Oh!” she cried in alarm. “What...?” Rabbit put her hands to her face. “Oh, I guess these are tears,” she hiccupped and tasted her fingers. “They’re salty.”

                “Please, Rabbit!” The Spine pleaded, his voice cracking. “Go away.”

                “NO!” she shouted and spun back around. “You gotta tell me what I did! I’m not gonna let you be sad, we gotta resolve this, The Spine! And until then I’m gonna stay right here! In fact...” Rabbit closed her eyes and launched herself across the bed. The Spine cried out in alarm as the young woman laced her arms around his chest and hugged him from behind. “I’m not going to let you go until you tell me!”

                His muscles tensed but he did not push her away. After a few moments, his shoulders slumped again and he hung his head. Rabbit smiled and hugged him a little tighter. “Ha. Gotcha,” she said and snuggled her head against his right shoulder. “Mmmmmmm,” Rabbit hummed. “I can hear your heart beating. It’s beating so fast, The Spine.”

                “Rabbit...?”

                “Mmmhmm?”

                The Spine brought his hands up and gingerly placed them on top of hers. He twisted toward her slowly and she loosened her grip, but kept her fingers locked together, refusing to let him go. Now they were facing each other and Rabbit smiled up at him. “I don’t want...” The Spine began, seeming to struggle with the right words as he looked into her eyes. “I can’t...” He whispered and lowered his head until their noses touched. His arms folded across her back, pulling her close to him and she made another pleased, humming sound, smiling and hugging him back. Rabbit lifted her chin and their lips connected.

                “Whoa!” she cried and pulled back. “What was that!”

“Oh, God, I’m sorry, Rabbit, I...” The Spine said, flustered.  “This is what I didn’t want to...”

                She did not pull away. “You felt that, too, didn’t you! Wooo!” she shivered. “What was that? It felt like... electricity, sort of!” Her eyes were wide and she beamed an excited smile at him. “Do it again!”

                “ _What?!_ ”

                Without waiting for approval, Rabbit lunged and kissed him deeply, making happy humming noises. The Spine gave in. He kissed her back and ran a hand through her thick, brown hair. However, he, being the more sensible of the two, he pulled back and held her shoulders, pushing her gently away. “Whoa, wait, wait wait wait, Rabbit. Slow down, we can’t... we can’t...”

                “We can’t _what_?” she teased.

                “I shouldn’t be in love with you!”

                “Who says?”

                “Well, we’re practically brothers!”

                Rabbit laughed. “Spine, have you looked at me lately?”

                “Well, sure, but we’ve lived together for 80 years!”

                “So?”

                “So...” The Spine’s argument looked feebler and feebler by the moment. “So, I guess it’s just me, then. I feel like I shouldn’t love you.”

                “The hell with it. Love me. I love _you_!”

                He boggled. “You do?”

                “Of course! Technically I’ve always loved you, just, _now_...” she grinned. “Kiss me again!”

                “I...”

                “Kiss me!!” Rabbit shouted gleefully and waited for him to bow his head to hers again. This time, the kiss was longer, deeper and both of them stopped suddenly and stared at each other in disbelief.

                “Wow...” The Spine shuddered.

                “Yeah...” Rabbit licked her lips. “What was _that_? I feel like, I’m aching!”

                “Uh...” his pale face flushed. “I think that might be ‘desire’. We should, uh... we should probably slow down, Rabbit. I mean, this is all so new...”

                She put her hands around his neck and smiled at him. “Ok, The Spine.”

                “And I’m not sure we should let anyone else know we’re... like this.”

                “Oh?” Rabbit asked and cocked her head to one side. “Why not?”

                “Well, half of what made me so anxious about how I felt, and still does a bit, is that I was worried what The Fifth would think, and Wanda, Norman, and The Jon.” He folded his hands over the small of her back. “I’m sure Jon wouldn’t mind but I don’t want him to feel left out. It’s bad enough I’ve treated him so poorly lately.”

                Rabbit made a face. “You have a point. Ok. It’ll be our secret!” she said with a sly smile. “As long as I can make you happy. You promise me something, though, Spine.”

                “Anything,” he quickly agreed.

                “If you feel bad again, you tell me. Don’t hide anything from me.”

                “Agreed. I promise.”

                They kissed once more before reluctantly returning to the drawing room where they found The Jon seated on a divan, waiting for them. Rabbit gave him the thumbs-up and the automaton tackled them both, hugging them tightly.

 

.x.

                Hiding their feelings from the other inhabitants of Walter Manor was both easy at times and difficult as The Spine and Rabbit became more comfortable around each other. Rabbit liked to steal kisses whenever she could and it both thrilled and annoyed The Spine that she would do so when others were just around the corner. Surely, he thought, someone would hear her giggle, would catch a glimpse of her hand in his, or the crimson blush on his cheeks. This day he finished showering (one of his favorite things about being human was getting clean) and wondering where Rabbit could have gone to (one of her favorite things was trying to peek at him getting clean). He hung his towel up and walked back to his room, dressed once more in hand-me-down black jeans and a black t-shirt with white letters “ELO” written inside a lightbulb on it. He didn’t have to look very far as he heard the sound of her bare feet pounding up the stairs toward him. The Spine grinned and stood at the top of the stairs, bracing for a hug-tackle, but his smile fell as he saw pain and tears on her pretty face.


	4. Chapter 4

                Rabbit had always been curious. The Spine took a shower and glanced around the curtain every once in a while to see if she had tried to sneak in and peek at him. If she had, he would shout that it was “too soon” and beg her to “please, stop teasing” him. After the first two times, Rabbit felt badly for making him upset and decided to leave him alone, but the habit of checking to see if she was there remained. Maybe after she did finally see him naked he’d be ok with her peeking at him. She said that she thought he was just so handsome, she could hardly stand it. He had to understand that, right? He said he was gangly and too pale, but Rabbit insisted that she thought he was incredible and ignored him.

As she wandered the halls of Walter Manor this morning, having left him to shower in peace, Rabbit was trying to imagine what The Spine did look like naked based on the scores of young men they’d seen in various stages of undress during the last war. A shiver shook her from her head to her toes. She giggled and her voice echoed down the basement hall.

                “That you, Rabbit?” Peter Walter V’s voice called from a nearby lab.

                “Five?” she called back and skipped into the room. “Hi, Five!” she chimed and held out her hand, but he didn’t so much as chuckle. “That was a _pun_.”

                “Ah,” he said looking up from a yellowed notebook. The pages were full of handwritten notes and figures in Peter A Walter I’s cursive. Peter A Walter V had his own notebook open beside that and held a ball-point pen loosely in his hand. Only a few words were written on the white, college-ruled page: “Robots. Blue Matter. Repairs. Ask Wanda about...”

                Rabbit pouted. “Whatcha doin’?”

                Peter looked up to see the perky young woman leaning over the lab table on her folded arms. The red, boat-neck sweater she wore left little to the imagination as it gaped and he cleared his throat and sat up straight on his stool.

                “I’m trying to learn how to fix The Jon.”

                Rabbit stood back up and gasped. “Is he broken?”

                “Not yet.” Peter closed the decades-old note book and sighed. “But when he does need service beyond what I’m capable of, I’d like to know what I’m doing.”

                “Mmm,” Rabbit nodded as if she understood. “Well, you don’t have to worry about me an’ The Spine, anymore!” she beamed.

                The young man nodded and muttered something like “Yeah, that’s great,” as he stood and rounded the table.

                Proudly, she stuck out her chest. “Barbara says we’re healthy as horses.”

                “It would seem that way,” Peter agreed and looked her up and down. “It’s a shame we don’t have shoes that fit you.”

                Rabbit giggled and slapped her bare feet on the cement floor. “We do, I just don’t like wearing them.” She wriggled her toes happily and Peter Walter V chuckled.

                “You are so cute, I can’t really get over it.”

                “You think?” Rabbit twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.

                “Yeah, I do.” Peter stepped closer to her so that only a few inches separated them. “You look really good. This sweater is cute, your shorts are cute, and your face... I wonder,” he said and put a hand on her shoulder and cupped it, trying to pull her even closer, “what you look like without your clothes on. Would you show me?”

                Rabbit froze in place. She balled her hands into fists and stared into his half-lidded eyes in disbelief before squeezing her own eyes shut and flinching. When her voice came to her it sounded choked and small. “Please, don’t.”

                Peter paused then quickly pulled his hand back. “I-I’m sorry, Rabbit, I...” he stuttered. Without looking at him, Rabbit spun around and darted from the room as he shouted “Rabbit, wait! I’m sorry!”

 

.x.

                When Rabbit saw The Spine standing at the top of the stairs she put on an extra burst of speed, taking the last ten steps two at a time. She collided with him on the landing and wrapped her arms around him, bawling into his chest. Stunned, The Spine stroked her hair and held her close, but begged her to tell him what was wrong.

                “Can w-we go s-someplace where...”

                Privacy, he thought. Right. “Come on,” he said, took her hand and led her across the landing and further up the stairs.

 

The northernmost turret was just about the only place anyone could have total privacy as it was separated from the rest of the house by a tall, narrow stairway. Rabbit knew where he was leading her and relaxed a little as the security the turret provided settled in. It was dirty and dusty but the broken windows allowed for free-moving air, and a small family of chirping birds in the rafters gave it a strangely pleasant ambiance. Dark clouds that had been threatening all day swirled around the manor and a light rain began to fall, ticking against the northern-facing windows.

 The Spine sat down against the wall and pulled her into his lap where she curled up and clutched his t-shirt, rubbing her face against his chest.

                “Shhh...” he rocked her in his arms and kissed the top of her head as she cried. “Rabbit, what happened?”

                “N-n-nothing,” she hiccupped. “Just hold me, Spine.”

                “Nothing, my foot. I’ve never seen you this upset before, even _back then_ ,” he argued.

                “Back then,” she said, catching her breath. “I w-wasn’t a girl!”

                “True.” He squeezed her tightly. “Rabbit, come on. You told me I can’t hide how I’m feeling from you. Do you know how much I hurt right now because I can’t make you feel better?”

                She gasped and looked up into his green eyes. “Oh! I’m sorry, Spine, I didn’t want to...” she started but couldn’t finish as another crying jag overtook her. “The Fifth scared me!”

                The Spine’s eyes widened. “What did he do?”

                “He... he s-said he wanted to see me without any c-clothes on.”

                “What?” he cried. “Did he touch you? Did he hurt you, Rabbit!”

                “No! No... he just said it. An’ I said please don’t an’ he said he was sorry but I just couldn’t even look at him an’ I feel so...” Rabbit shook her head. “I don’t know! I feel weak an’ small, Spine. I was so scared!” she cried.

                He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. “If he hurt you, I’d kill him.”

                Rabbit looked up at him in panic. “Oh, don’t, Spine. He said he was sorry!”

                “I won’t. I won’t. He’s lucky he doesn’t know about us. If he did there would be absolutely no excuse for his actions.”

                “Why’d he do that, The Spine? Why’d he look at me like that?” Rabbit relaxed and leaned against him. She smoothed the wrinkles she’d made in his shirt with her hand.

                “Well,” he made a face. “Now, there’s no excuse for him making such a brazen pass at you when you didn’t want him to, but, now, hear me out, maybe you might have...” he grimaced, looking for the right word. “You might have _inspired_ him, a little.”

                “I did?” Rabbit pouted up at him. Her demure form was curled against him, seated on his splayed-out legs with her legs tucked up so that her bare feet touched his left leg. Her left arm was wrapped around his back and her right lay against him just below his left shoulder. Her hair was, as usual, a little messy and her green-and-blue eyes were large and red-rimmed.

                The Spine smiled sweetly on the girl he loved. “Rabbit, you might not realize it, but you have an incredible power.”

                “I do?”

                “Boy, do you ever. You’re cute, no, gorgeous--sexy even. You shine. Your laugh is infectious and your brightness is practically blinding.” Rabbit blushed and smiled. “Right now, you’re making me want to do everything in my power to make you happy. That’s how strong your power is. However, it can also backfire when someone just wants that brightness to themselves. Do you remember the young soldiers we were stationed with?”

                Her smile fell a little. “Yeah.”

                “Remember when they would talk about ladies? The things they would say?”

                Rabbit fidgeted. “Yeah. Wow. I didn’t really think about it at the time. But now, remembering those... horrible things--disgusting things they’d say...!”

                “Men can be like that.”

                “So Five is like that?” she asked, astounded.

                “Maybe a little? I think a lot of men are, but also, you’re... well, Rabbit, maybe the way you were acting around him might have made him think he could ask you what he did.”

                “The way I was...” she repeated and looked to the dusty floor. “Oh. Oh... did I... Is this my fault?” Tears sprang to her eyes again.

                “No! No, Rabbit, it’s _not_ your fault, you didn’t know any better. This is still something The Fifth did wrong, no matter what.”

                She nodded. “Spine, how do you know all this stuff so well?”

                “You probably know it, too, or maybe you used to, but I think the difference is that I was and am a man and you are now a woman. You’re...” he searched for the right word again. “You’re programmed differently, now. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

                “Ok...” Rabbit looked back up at him. “Will you help me, The Spine?”

                “Of course. I love you, Rabbit.”

                At last, Rabbit smiled and lifted her face up for a kiss. “Oh gosh, I love you too, The Spine.” They sat together and quietly watched the rain until it had passed and the sun emerged from the clouds to the west.

                “Rabbit, I’ve got an idea. Let’s go for a walk in the park.”

                She blinked at him for a second. “We can do that?”

                He grinned wide. “We’re adult humans. We can do whatever we want!”


	5. Chapter 5

                The scent of fresh, cold rain on hot asphalt and the brightness of the sun reflected on the wet surfaces struck them as they descended the steps of Walter Manor. Every time either of them smelled rain on pavement they would think back fondly on this, their first day out of the house. All they did was tell Norman they were going for a walk (after finding Rabbit a pair of flip-flops) and they were off.

                “Now, we won’t be gone long,” The Spine had advised the Walters’ servant. “We’ll be back before sundown, for certain.”

                “Very good, Mr. Spine,” Norman nodded. “Will you be taking a car?”

                The Spine raised a brow and looked to Rabbit. “Uh... yes. Of course. A car. Certainly. Forgot about that. Come on, Rabbit. Let’s go get the car.”

                Rabbit could hardly contain herself. “Why, sure, Spine. We’ll go for a drive!” When they were outside she let out a peal of laughter. “We’re gonna drive a car and no one’s gonna tell us no!”

                “Much better than walking,” The Spine agreed. “I forgot that the park is probably ten miles from here!”

               

.x.

                They took the Walters’ black 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air out of the garage and had an uneventful drive to the park. The Spine had been an accomplished driver when he was a robot and his skills had not diminished. They parked close to what was left of the old Pan-American Expo buildings and hand-in-hand, took a walk through Balboa Park.

                They remarked on how time had been unkind to so many structures, but were heartened that others had just recently been placed on the Register of Historic Places, saving them from destruction. They strolled for a few hours before finding a free bench and sitting down to people-watch.

                “Now,” The Spine said, tipping his head toward a young woman on roller skates. “Watch this.” She wore short-shorts and a tight tank-top. Her blond hair was feathered and her skin was tanned. She skated past a number of young men who all turned their heads and watched her go. Those who were not alone, made comments to their friends about this or that aspect of her appearance.

                Rabbit watched, jaw hanging open. She pointed to the woman as she disappeared down the path but was at loss for words.

                “Yes, Rabbit. That is the effect you have had on the two men in our household.”

                “But... but I don’t look like _that_!”

                The Spine laughed. “No, not quite. But the effect is the same. That woman knows very well that she is getting looks and comments and she probably both wants and expects to get them.”

                “Why!”

                He laughed again. “It might make her feel good about herself, maybe?”

                Rabbit huffed. “I don’t want to do that.”

                “You don’t have to. You seem to feel pretty good about yourself regardless of what people think of you.” The Spine noticed another example and subtly indicated to a nice-looking woman in her forties. She walked a greyhound and wore sneakers, a knee-length orange skirt and green blouse. Men also turned to look at her, though not as many and their look was not lascivious or rude, just acknowledging. “See the difference. She’s not flaunting her looks, but she’s still nice to look at so, men--they’re going to look!”

                Rabbit hummed and nodded. “Did you look?”

                The Spine made a face. “Uh... I...”

                “Well?”

                He sighed. “Yes. I did. I looked. I am a man. It will happen. However,” he said, took her face in his right hand and kissed her gently. “You are the only one for me.”

                Rabbit melted. “Ok...” she acquiesced.

                “Feel better?”

                “Yes. I guess I can forgive The Fifth. He’s our friend and I guess I better, since we have to live with him!”

                “Probably the best thing to do. But,” The Spine said, his tone becoming serious, “if anything else happens to you...” He put his left arm around her shoulder.

                “You’ll protect me.” Rabbit looked up at her beau and gave him a sweet, loving look.

                “You might better give that look only to me from now on. Damned powerful stuff,” he said and kissed her.

                “With great power comes great responsibility, The Spine.”

                He laughed and his stomach growled. “Ugh,” he groaned. “I wish we had some money of our own so I could buy us some lunch.”

“Lunch, schmuch,” Rabbit dismissed him but made a face as her own stomach growled. “Ok so that would be pretty great. But! Nothing to be done about it. Oh! Spine! Do you hear that?” The sound of music drew their attention to the north and Rabbit grinned wide, leapt up and took him by the hand, dragging him toward the distant notes of an alto saxophone.

 

                A few yards away, Peter Walter V lowered a newspaper and watched them walk away. He pursed his lips and nodded. “Well, that explains that,” he muttered. He made sure they were out of sight, then folded the paper under his arm and walked slowly, hands in pockets, back to his car.

 

                A middle-aged black man in a black suit seated on a folding chair played a saxophone without any other accompaniment. His hat was on the ground before him and this was partly full of change. He expertly played Charlie Parker tunes to anyone who would listen and the pair of former robot-musicians were enthralled. Soon, the sun had become too much and the sax player finished and started to pack up his things. Rabbit whispered furiously to The Spine and pulled him forward. “Mister?” she asked. “We just loved your playing!”

                “Well, thank ye kindly, miss,” the man said and bowed his bald head to her.

                “We don’t have any money,” she said sadly, “but I just wanted to let you know!”

                “That’s fine, miss. Music is free. If people can pay me, that’s their choice.” He smiled, white teeth flashing.

                Rabbit skipped back to The Spine and they turned and headed back out of the park. They passed a woman reading poetry, a couple of young men telling funny stories, and lastly, a middle-aged man in white makeup miming his way out of an invisible box. Rabbit froze and pointed. “Look at that!” she cried and nearly broke the mime’s concentration. “That is so cool! Ooh! Spine! Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

                “I don’t know, Rabbit, I’m pretty sure he can get out of the box without our help.”

                She blinked at him. “No, no. I’m thinking of a brilliant idea. Come on! Let’s go home and I’ll tell you and Jon all about it!”

 

.x.

                When The Spine and Rabbit returned it was already dinner time. They parked the car and The Spine hurried after Rabbit as she ran into the house, tearing toward the kitchen screaming that she was starving to death. He didn’t catch up to her until she was in the room and a tense scene was already unfolding.

                Standing with her hands on her hips, fifty-three-year-old Wanda Becile glared at Rabbit with a look that could eat a hole through steel. The Jon sat on a chair between the two women and when either of them spoke, his head flipped dramatically from one to the other. Rabbit was striking the same pose as Wanda and faux-glared back at her.

“Isn’t _that_ nice!” Wanda snarled. “Well, you’re lucky we feed you at all.”

                “I just said I was hungry,” Rabbit insisted. “What’s you’re problem, Wanda?”

                “You wanna know what my problem is?” she asked. “We’re broke, that’s what! We’re eating mac and cheese out of a box. Again. And there’s not enough to go around now that we go two more mouths to feed!” She pointed an accusatory finger at The Spine who wilted under her glare.

                “Well sooooory!” Rabbit folded her arms. “Not my problem we got zapped by some crazy laser. You think we wanted to become mortal? We can _die now_ , Wanda.”

                “I don’t care about that. I care that in the meantime Walter Robotics is going down the crapper and we’re down two automatons! And let’s face it, the one we got left isn’t much use.”

                The Jon made a sharp whining sound and sunk down into his chair. Rabbit clenched her jaw and shook with rage. The Spine could see she was trying to hold back so he put his hand on her shoulder to help steady her.

                “Now, Wanda...” The Spine took a step forward but it only served to redirect Wanda’s anger toward him.

                “Don’t you ‘ _now Wanda_ ’ me. You’re just as bad. You took the damned car out for a friggin’ joy ride! You may not be aware of this, but we’re in the middle of another energy crisis!”

                The Spine made a confused face. “But the ‘57...?” he started. She didn’t let him finish.

                “And now when the next war comes along we probably can’t get a contract from the government because...”

                “We said we’re never doing that again!” Rabbit stomped her foot.

                “You don’t have any say in the matter,” Wanda spat back.

                “The Jon will not fight in another war!” Rabbit shouted.

                “Do you know how many millions we made off those wars? Do you? No! You don’t! You have no idea how hard it is to keep this monster going!” Wanda waved her hands emphatically at the ceiling, indicating to the whole of Walter Manor. “Damn it! Pete’s useless, The Jon is useless, and you two are the _most useless of all_!”

                The Jon whimpered and pulled his hat over his eyes. Rabbit reached out and pulled his head to her belly to protect him despite her own tears and The Spine stepped into the tight space between them and Wanda. “That’s enough, Wanda.”

                “Oh, here we go again...”

                “THAT’S. ENOUGH.” The Spine shouted and drilled holes into Wanda Becile with his eyes. She straightened up, shocked and indignant, and her mouth closed into a severe pout. “Enough hurtful words. I know we’re a burden to you and we are grateful that you let us continue to live here, but please,” he said. “Let’s not fight.”

                Wanda huffed. “Get your damned mac and cheese,” she said under her breath and slowly left the room, defeated.

                When her footsteps had faded The Spine sunk down into a chair and let out a long breath. “You ok, Rabbit? Jon?”

                “I’m ok, Spine,” Rabbit said softly. She stroked the automaton’s back and comforted him. “Jon, it’s ok, Buddy. She’s just got her knickers in a knot over money is all. She didn’t mean those things she said.”

                “I am pretty worthless,” he muttered into her red sweater. “Prob’ly only worth the gold plating...”

                “No!” Rabbit squatted down and held his face in her hands, looking into his green eyes. “No, The Jon, you are _not_ worthless! Me, I’d make about a buck fifty, but _you_...!” He laughed a little and hugged her. “No matter what, we got each other. What’s a little poverty between friends, right?”

The Spine smiled and nodded. He got up and scooped out two helpings of mac and cheese for them into chipped china bowls. “She’s right you know. Not about the buck fifty.”

                “As a matter of fact,” Rabbit said, releasing The Jon and standing back up again to receive her dinner. “I need you to help me out with something. Both of you.”

                The Spine cocked a brow. “Is this the ‘brilliant idea’ you were hinting at earlier?”

                Rabbit laughed and spooned the yellow, salty glop into her mouth. “You betcha!” She swung around to the other side of the table and dropped herself into a chair. She held the bowl up with one hand and held her spoon in the other. “See, Spine and me were takin’ a walk in the park today...”

                “You went _out_?” The Jon asked in disbelief.

                Rabbit froze and looked to The Spine who shrugged. “Yeah. See, I had something... I was kinda down about something and Spine thought it was a good idea I got some fresh air quick. So we were there and we saw something that inspired me!” She waved her spoon like a magic wand for emphasis and to distract The Jon.

                The Spine raised a brow. “What was that, Rabbit?”

                “Musicians. Actors. Performers. And...” she took another big bite of the cheesy pasta. “A mime.”

                The Jon blinked. “A what?”

                She swallowed and clarified. “A MIME! Oh, it was so awesome, The Jon! His face was painted white and he was moving like a robot and pretending he was trapped in a box and I totally believed him!”

                The Spine looked skeptical. “And the mime inspired you to, what exactly?”

                “Ok. Brace yourselves, gentlemen. The three of us are gonna go to the park and perform for money.” She held the bowl and spoon out and wiggled them but the other two men were silent.

                “Perform?” The Spine asked.

                “In the park?” The Jon asked. “Like... old times?”

                “YES! Only, this time Spine and me are human so when I saw the mime it hit me. We can ACT like ROBOTS!” Rabbit deposited the now cold bowl of mac and cheese on the table and raised her arms. She mimicked movements that until not quite two weeks ago were automatic. She hissed between her teeth as if steam was escaping and The Jon nearly fell out of his chair.

                “Ha! See? Brilliant idea!” Rabbit crowed.

                “Well, I dunno, Rabbit,” The Spine folded his arms. “I don’t think anyone’s going to believe that we’re robots.”

                “Already thought of that, Spine. The mime inspires again!” She put her fingers over her face. “Make up!”

                “Make up?”

                “Lots of it.”

                The Jon clambered back into his chair and stared, awestruck at Rabbit. The Spine made a pensive face and pushed his half-eaten dish away from him. “You know, I bet there’s still some make up left that belonged to Miss Mary and Miss Iris. The Walters never throw anything away.”

                “Oh!” The Jon raised his hand as if he wanted to be called upon in class. Rabbit pointed to him. “And we have our guitars and you have your accordion still, right, Rabbit?”

“Perfect!” Rabbit said and clapped her hands together once. “Boys. The Steam Man Band is back in business!”


	6. Chapter 6

                Two weeks had passed. Rabbit, The Jon and The Spine practiced as often as they could, playing songs they had played many years ago. The Jon started writing his own songs as well in a funky, 1970’s-vibe like “Juju Magic” and “Sound of Tomorrow”. Though Rabbit talked about makeup a lot, she had balked at putting any on. Her usual excuse was that she wanted the design to be perfect and didn’t want to distract from the music just yet.

 

                After days of mac and cheese and bologna sandwiches, The Spine decided on his own that it was time to take financial matters into his own hands. He took the elevator down to the basement and sought out the head of household.

                “Five, you in here?” he asked the hallway of the sixth-floor basement.

                “Spine? I’m in number three,” he answered. The Spine found him dressed the part of the scientist with his white lab coat and goggles perched on top of his head. He looked very much like the first Peter Walter, so much so that The Spine did a double-take when he turned around. “What’s up?” Peter asked, putting down a voltage meter with which he was testing equipment.

                “I wanted to discuss something with you, are you free?”

                Peter shrugged. “Not getting anywhere, so might as well.” He took a seat on a stool and motioned for The Spine to do the same. He walked to the stool, but remained standing.

                “I understand that finances are... tight, lately.”

                Peter sighed. “Did Wanda say something?”

                “She did.”

                “I told her to go easy on you. You know how she is.”

                The Spine grimaced. “Yeah. But she’s right. There are two more mouths to feed and we’re not doing anything to help out in this tough time.”

                “So what do you propose, Spine, you wanna get a job?”

                The Spine laughed lightly. “No. I think we can help, Rabbit and I, or at least I can. I didn’t think about it until Wanda chastised us for taking the ‘57 Chevy out because there’s a gas crisis on.” He raised a knowing brow at Peter who pouted and shook his head as if he didn’t know what he was getting at. “March 17th, 1963 I retrofitted the ‘57 to run on Blue Matter.”

                Peter Walter V’s jaw dropped open. “You... did what?”

                “I was the one who retrofitted the ‘57.”

                “To run on Blue Matter. You did?”

                “I did.”

                “In 1963?”

                “March the 17th,” he repeated. “I finished at about four in the afternoon. I remember being glad it was done because Sid Caesar and the McGuire Sisters were on Ed Sullivan that night and I would have missed it if I’d finished later.”

                Peter slowly slipped off his stool and without breaking eye contact approached the young man standing across from him. “Are you serious? You did this and you remember who was on TV that night?”

                “Well, I sure do!”

                “I _don’t_! And I think I probably watched that with you! Spine, that’s not normal to have such a clear memory.”

                The Spine frowned. “Well, I don’t know, Five. It seems normal to me!”

                The scientist clapped his hands once and laughed a surprised, delighted laugh. “Spine! This is great! Where’d ya put the schematics for the conversion?”

                “Uh... Schematics?”

                His face fell. “You did keep notes, didn’t you?”

                “Um... No. I didn’t. Five, it’s all in here,” he said and pointed to his head.

                “All of it?”

                To prove a point, The Spine rattled off a series of numbers, equations and instructions that made even someone of Peter’s intellect dizzy. “Ok! Ok!” he shouted, laughing. “Spine. This is great! So, you know all that. Do you know how to fix The Jon?”

                The Spine gave him another perplexed look. “We all do.”

                “Well all what?”

                He sighed. “We all know how to fix The Jon. We had to be programmed to make repairs on the battlefield. Though, Rabbit wasn’t as good at it because he... she...” he shook his head. “When she was a robot he refused upgrades. His... ach. Forget it, I’m using female pronouns from now on, it’s just too confusing! _Her_ mind didn’t retain as much as mine was able to because she refused upgrades. Something about not wanting any of Pappy’s work to be altered. Not that it matters a whole hill of beans, now.”

                Peter rubbed his chin and walked slowly back to his stool. “I see. Well, good. When can you start work?” he asked with a grin.

                “I can work with you when we don’t have practice, so starting tomorrow morning.”

                “Good. Spine? Speaking of Rabbit, I haven’t spoken to her in a while, I...” He put his hand on the back of his neck and bowed his head, looking sheepish. “I said something I shouldn’t have to her and I think I scared her pretty badly.”

                “Oh?” The Spine feigned ignorance and sat on the stool across the lab table from him.

                “Yeah. I apologized to her immediately. I just got carried away, I mean, she seemed like she was _flirting_ with me!”

                The Spine pursed his lips and nodded. Because he already knew what had happened, he remained calm. Peter Walter V was lucky that this was the case. “I can see how that would happen. She’s powerful cute.”

                “I feel really badly about it. I would never just come out and say something dirty to her or anyone else. I guess maybe I’ve also been holed up in here too long. Whatever, doesn’t matter. Point is I’m sorry and I want to tell her that. Could you tell her for me and let me know if she’ll accept my apology? I’ll say it to her face but I just don’t want things to be awkward between all of us.”

                “I understand, Five. I’ll ask her.”

                “Good. Thanks, Spine.” Peter cocked his head to one side. “Spine, _Spine_ ,” he repeated. “Have you thought about a new name?”

                This took the former robot by surprise. “I didn’t, but Rabbit did. She had a few ideas for us both but none of them sound right. I don’t think there are any that fit me at all. The closest in sound is “Spencer” and that’s kinda nerdy, don’t you think?”

                Peter laughed. “Yeah sure, way more nerdy that ‘The Spine’. Well, maybe you’ll find one yet. If not, I don’t have any problems calling you Spine.”

                “That’s good...” The Spine got up to go and winked at Peter Walter V. “... _Five_.”

 

.x.

                The Spine convinced Rabbit to talk to Peter and the two met face-to-face for the first time since the incident. He was both surprised and relieved that it went so smoothly. Rabbit was eager to completely regain her confidence and happiness and Peter was eager to stop feeling so guilty about what he’d said. After their meeting, Rabbit skipped into the salon in which The Spine was reading a tattered paperback copy of Brave New World and stood in front of him until he put down the book.

                “Well?”

                “We’re ok!”

                He sighed. “That’s good.”

                “Jon’s off getting maintenance with Barbara right now, I think it’s a good time to work on our _makeup_ ,” she said, whispering the last word.

                “Our...? Oh, for the _robots_ ,” he whispered back playfully.

                She grabbed his hand and pulled him up out of his chair and together they went in search of anything they could get their hands on.

 

                In an enormous black-and-white tiled bathroom that had been part of Peter Walter I’s suite of rooms, they laid out all that they had found. Various lipsticks, eyeliners, powders, crèmes and other things were scattered over a long table before an equally long mirror. Rabbit pulled up a frilly, white chair, sat, and stared at her reflection. “Well, at least I’m already copper-colored!”

                “And I’m so pale I’m practically silver. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.” He stepped up beside her chair and put his left hand on her left shoulder.

                Rabbit nodded. She felt small and dainty in the feminine surroundings of Iris Walter’s dressing table. Her pearl-handled brushes were laid out as if she would return any moment. Perfume bottles stood with their contents evaporated to a dark brown at the bottom of each cut-crystal vial. Sitting there, Rabbit felt more connected to these people than she ever had before. She looked up into the mirror at The Spine’s reflection looking down at her sitting in the chair. The way his brows were arched and his mouth was curled into a soft smile sent shivers from her toes up. She covered his hand with hers and smiled up at the reflection. “Oh, I get it now,” she said. “It all makes sense.”

                “What does?”

                “Why we were created in the first place. Pappy loved Delilah Moreau so he wanted to show her how he felt about her. He made us to deliver that message to her, and later, when he married Miss Iris, we were his messengers then, too. Those songs--those loves songs we sang, I never really got it. I knew they meant everything to Pappy, but I never really fully understood why--and how could we?” She looked into his eyes in the mirror and sang, “ _‘Night and day, you are the one...’, ‘...Sweet, comic Valentine, you make me smile with my heart...’ ‘They asked me how I knew my true love was true, oh, I of course replied something here inside cannot be denied...!_ ’ That’s it!” she shouted and turned her head to look up at him. “That’s exactly it! I love you with all my heart!”

                The Spine bowed low and kissed her. He didn’t need to say a word in reply. After a few moments Rabbit pulled away and was surprised that her face was so warm. She cleared her throat. “We should get to the task at hand, right?”

                The Spine laughed and agreed, still wanting to take it slow, but overjoyed that she had shown him such a genuine display of affection.

Rabbit pulled a folded piece of paper from her pocket and spread it on the table. Crude designs were scrawled on the paper and tucked inside was a photo of the two of them as robots from the 1940’s. “So I was thinkin’ it should be a little like this.”

The Spine nodded and raised a brow. “Looks doable.”

                Rabbit giggled. “The Jon’s gonna be so surprised!”


	7. Chapter 7

                Nearly three hours and many revisions later, they were satisfied with this first version of what they’d done. They wore some of their old clothes and Rabbit put her hair in a ponytail. Two pairs of Iris Walter’s opera gloves sat nearby. Rabbit placed a fedora on The Spine’s head and instructed him to imitate his former-self. “You mean, like this?” he asked, dropping his voice lower and making jerking movements with his arms and waist. Rabbit squealed and stamped her feet with joy, shouting that it was perfect. The Spine then asked her to do the same and Rabbit blushed.

                “I dunno if I can, really. I mean, I’m a girl, now, Spine.”

                Not breaking character, he replied. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll do fine! Maybe.”

                She laughed and took a deep breath. Dropping the pitch of her voice as much as she could, Rabbit said “Good afternoon, The Spine! My n-n-name is Rabbit, and I was b-built back in 1896.”

                His eyes went wide and he nodded slowly. “You even nailed the glitches,” he said in his human voice. “Don’t forget the motions.”

                “Right, gotta work on that.” She turned to the mirror. “Ah! Forgot my hat!” Putting it on, she did a double-take at her reflection and fell into character. “M-my, that’s a fetching robut ‘chya got there. Oh. Right. That’s _me_ ,” she said, miming the robotics. “Oh! Spine! Steam!” she cried and made a hissing sound with her mouth.

                The Spine laughed. “Right. And gears, don’t forget gears.” He tried a few, mimicking the sounds his old body used to make.

                Rabbit tried to do the same. “I think this is easier for boys, mine don’t sound right.”

                “They sound fine.” *chjzzzzzzzz*

                “No, yours are better.” *vzjjjjjjjjj* “See, mine are too high,” she argued and both of them jumped at the sound of someone pounding on the bathroom door.

                The Jon’s voice shouted from the other side. “What are you doing in there?”

                “Ah crap! I’m not ready!” Rabbit panicked.

                The Spine grinned and switched back into robot-mode. “Sure you are, Rabbit. What’s the matter? Got stage fright? It’s just Jon.”

                “I know!” she cried, following suit. “That’s why I’m so nervous!”

                “Well, we’re stuck. We’ve got to go out that door some time.”

                Rabbit made whining, nervous sounds. “Yeaaaaaah.”

                “It’s ok, Rabbit. I’ll go with you.”

                “Ya will, The Spine?”

                “Always.”

                She dropped character for a moment. “Ooh! Wanna kiss you so bad right now!”

                “Well, Rabbit, I don’t... ah... I don’t think that’d be... uh...” *kshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh* He hissed as if a great amount of steam had escaped and he bent his knees and drooped at the waist.

                Rabbit laughed hard. “Ok. Later then.” She gently kicked his shin with the top-side of her foot and hopped to the door. The Spine came ‘back to life’ and sauntered after her. Together, they opened the door and faced their friend.

                “Sorry, there, The Jon,” Rabbit said, sheepishly. “We uh... we were havin’ some _technical difficulties_.”

                “All better, now,” agreed The Spine who tipped his hat to him. “Are you ready to practice?”

                “Yeah, The Jon! We gotta get ready to play in the park! Oh, it’s gonna be so fun!”

                The Jon stood stock still and gawked at the pair before him. “Guys...?” he said quietly.

                Rabbit giggled. “Yep!” She waved her gloved hands next to her face. “It’s us!”

                The Spine put his hand on her shoulder which was the first thing that alerted her to the fact that something was wrong. Then she noticed what he had already seen: black oil tears leaking down The Jon’s golden face. “Guys?” he repeated. “You’re back? But... you’re not...”

                “Whoa, hold on, there Jon,” The Spine said and wiped a gloved finger down the side of his cheek. “It’s ok. It’s us, we just put on makeup, see?” He held the finger out to show him the white and grey smear it had picked up.

                “Why...?” The Jon asked, starting to sob. “Why are you doing this to me!”

                “Jon, we didn't mean to...” Rabbit reached out to him but he stepped back and withdrew the feather from his hat. In a twinkling he was gone.

 

.x.

 The moment he disappeared they both knew where The Jon had gone. The last time he’d left was a few years ago, immediately following their service in the Vietnam War. As soon he’d been reassembled and the chip that overrode the “flight” part of his “fight-or-flight” response was removed The Jon vanished without the dramatics of a feather wand to initiate his mysterious inter-dimensional inner-workings. While in Kazooland for nearly a year-and-a-half, in 1977 The Jon was elected Mayor of Biscuit Town.

The Spine was sure that he’d gone there now to calm himself down. He tried to reassure Rabbit that he just needed some space and that they couldn’t have predicted such a reaction, but Rabbit was inconsolable. At first she was angry with The Jon that he’d reacted so negatively to something she found such joy in, but soon, that feeling gave way to guilt and misery. The makeup that frightened and confused him was her idea, after all. All The Spine could do was hold her and repeat over and over that everything was going to be alright, though he wasn’t sure he believed himself.

 

In the weeks that followed, Rabbit practiced her accordion, mostly by herself. The Spine was off working with Peter and although they’d patched things up between them, Rabbit just didn’t feel that she belonged with the boys in the basement. Even when she’d been a robot, mechanics and science didn’t come to her as easily as they did The Spine. She had always preferred art and music and in the time that followed The Jon’s disappearance, she was glad she had them to occupy her mind. When she did get to see The Spine, it was usually for meals and for a short while before bedtime in the salons and parlors of Walter Manor.

 

The Spine was glad that Rabbit didn’t ask him very much about his work. She would talk ad nauseam about a book she was reading or a radio program she’d heard, an old jazz album she’d listened to on the phonograph, or a new song she was writing. He soaked it in and did his best to encourage her distraction. Little did he know that under the surface was something akin to her old malfunctioning boiler, rivets straining behind the pressure from within.

One evening, four months after The Jon left, Rabbit sauntered into the parlor with a tiny squeezebox in her hands. She flopped down wordlessly on the sofa next to him, opened the bellows and began to play a dark, song about a man in red suspenders playing a banjo in a swamp. It was strange and wonderful at the same time and The Spine complimented her on it when she was done.

 

Wanda Becile wandered down the hall from the kitchen where she had just finished cleaning up, bemoaning the lack of servants to her husband who had gone to bed rather than listen to the same story over and over again. She looked sadly on a portrait of her father and mother as she passed it and was about to launch into a lonely monolog about bygone days when she heard the sound of an accordion coming from one of the salons.

 

Rabbit set the squeezebox aside and twisted in her seat, stuck her feet over the arm of the sofa and put her head in The Spine’s lap. A reading lamp behind his left shoulder shone down in her eyes and she put her hand up to block the light. “You liked it?”

“I loved it. Creepy, but great.”

“That was the intended effect,” she said. “That’s what I did today. What did _you_ do today?”

He blanched. “Things.”

“Things?”

“Sciency things.”

Rabbit frowned, and, irritated by the reading lamp shining in her eyes, she swiveled and sat up beside him, peering up into his green eyes. His head was silhouetted by the light behind him. “Spine. What are you and Five up to down there?”

“Well, I’m trying to...”

Suddenly she stiffened and leaned toward him, staring at him as if his head was on fire. “Your hair’s blue,” she said in an accusatory tone. Sure enough, the way the light shone through his black hair revealed blue highlights. As she squinted to examine him, she also noticed that his face was paler than usual and his lips were nearly colorless--on their way to becoming blue as well.

The Spine squared his shoulders. “I...”

“You’re working with Blue Matter.”

“Now, Rabbit...”

“Spine, you know how dangerous that is!”

“Well, sure but...”

“But nothing, stop it. Doesn’t Five have Barbara for that sort of thing?”

“Rabbit I can’t stop it, it’s what I’m doing to help Walter Robotics,” he said firmly. “Pete doesn’t know half of what I do about it and we can only afford to keep Barbara part-time”

Rabbit shot up off the sofa and glared down at him. “Does ‘1950’ ring any bells with you?” she demanded. “You will recall that my power core alone was enough to vaporize The Second and Guy Hottie! And then poor Norman and The Third were... Spine, how could you think that I’d be ok with you working so closely with that stuff!”

“Rabbit, it’s not like that. Your power core was...” he winced remembering what Rabbit had looked like when they found the robot’s body torn to pieces. “It wasn’t in stable condition and Becile had been messing with it...”

“That is beside the point!” she shouted.

At last, The Spine raised his voice. “ _Rabbit, I have to!_ Walter Robotics needs me and if I don’t help, we’ll be _on the street_. I want to be able to provide for you, Rabbit, you and Jon, so you can make music and be happy! Can’t you see?”

Tears came to her eyes and she shook with rage and sadness. “I don’t wanna lose you,” she said through clenched teeth. She looked away.

The Spine deflated. “Rabbit, I’m sorry.” She turned to go and he grasped her hand. “Rabbit. Don’t go. Please? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“I don’t wanna be alone.” She looked back at him over her shoulder. “I miss you. I miss Jon. I can’t talk to Pete and Wanda hates me and...”

The Spine tugged her gently and she fell down into his lap again. He folded his arms around her. Rabbit hugged him back tightly while he kissed the top of her head and whispered consoling words to her. “Wanda doesn’t hate you. The Jon will be back and I am so sorry that I’ve been so busy I’ve neglected you. I want to help Walter Robotics. I want us to make money so I can support you but I don’t want you to suffer in the meantime. I know that there will be time for music and fun once we’re profitable again, but it doesn’t mean I can’t take some time now as well. I’ll try to be more mindful of that. Your happiness is so important to me. I love you so much.”

“Love you, too,” she muttered, her face buried in his chest.

“There’s a lot to be done. I’ve been teaching Five everything I know and together we’re working on some pretty incredible things. Soon I hope we can show you something in particular I know you and Jon are going to love.”

She sighed a few times as the last of her sobs petered out. “I wish The Jon had been zapped human, too. Maybe then he’d still be here.”

“I dunno, I think he’d probably be an eight-year old,” The Spine said, making a face. Rabbit chuckled lightly. “You sound tired.” She nodded against his chest.

“Spine, can I sleep in your room tonight?”

The young man’s cheeks went crimson. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Sure you can.”

Rabbit made a happy sort of humming sound and peeled herself out of his arms. She grabbed her squeezebox in one hand and his hand in the other and pulled him along with her toward his room.

 

Wanda Walter Hottie Becile flattened herself against the wall in the darkened hallway, just around the corner from them as they emerged and headed up the stairs to bed. When they had gone, she let out a breath she’d been holding and shook her head. “Well, that explains that,” she muttered, smiled and walked slowly, monolog-free to her own suite of rooms.


	8. Chapter 8

                November 23, 1979. The Jon had been gone almost six long months. It was the day after Thanksgiving. Rabbit sat alone in the recently refurbished seventh parlor. Because there was a grand piano in this room, they had decided that it should be a music room and moved in all of their instruments. Five old, battered guitar cases lay against the southern wall. Only two of these guitars had a complete set of playable strings as they didn’t have the money to string all of them. One guitar sat out on a window seat, it’s black surface shining in the sunlight that streamed in through the window. Rabbit sat on a green plush couch and played her accordion. To her left was a notepad and pen with some notes jotted down in nearly illegible scrawl.  _“Feels like I'm on top of the universe on a shootin' star. Life is so wonderful and everything is by far so spectacular!”_ she sang. “Ooh, that’s good!” She scribbled the words and notes down on the yellow page. Her stomach growled and she put the accordion down in a huff. “Where are they with those sandwiches? I can’t write on an empty stomach!” Rabbit jumped up and did a twirl across the room, humming the song she was writing as she went. She wore a pair of wide-legged, high-waisted purple pants with a frilly white blouse tucked in--more hand-me-downs from Wanda in a style from a few years prior. The white shirt made her dark complexion stand out in a flattering way. Her hair was pulled up loosely on top of her head and the thick locks stuck out a bit here and there. She was, as usual, barefoot. In the far corner stood The Jon’s drum set. Rabbit drifted over to it and rapped a cymbal with her fingertips. “Aw, Jon, hurry up and get back here,” she whispered.

                In answer, a sound like paper ripping and dozens of birds chirping at once startled her and she spun around to see the very person she was thinking of pop into existence not five feet behind her.

                “Jon!” she cried and launched herself at him. “Oh, Jon I missed you so much!” Rabbit threw her arms around her friend and hugged him tightly. He was a little startled to come face-to-face with her so quickly but returned the hug. “I’m so sorry!” she wailed. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you feel bad with the makeup I won’t do it again so please don’t run away for such a long time ever again I missed you so much!”

                “I promise,” The Jon said simply.

                “Oh, and Jon we have a surprise for you,” Rabbit said excitedly, released him from the hug and held his shoulders. She smiled at him but the smile sagged as she noticed his face seemed tense and unsettled.

                “Rabbit, I have a surprise for you, too. You and The Spine.” He extended his right arm and made a twisting motion with his wrist as if reaching for something invisible. Using his uncanny ability to dance across the dimensions, he pulled a sizable object from the void. Rabbit gasped and took her hands off his shoulders but stood where she was, only inches from him. He held what looked very much like the weapon that had changed her life in his hands. “Isn’t it great?” he asked in a creepy voice. “I had my friends in New Pieland develop it. It’s a Confetti Beam Cannon. I can turn you and The Spine back into robots with it.”

                Rabbit shuddered. She knew that The Spine was on the far distant side of the manor, making sandwiches. Norman was out waxing the cars. Wanda was napping in her room before lunch, five stories above her. Peter and Barbara were working in the lab, six stories below her. It was up to her. She put her hands around The Jon’s waist and grasped his suspenders from the back, locking herself to him and making certain she was too close for him to point the weapon at her.

                “Jon, that’s really sweet of you,” she said calmly. “You must miss us as Robots, huh?”

                The automaton nodded.

                “So when you saw us looking like our old selves, it made you sad, huh?’

                He nodded again.

                “You don’t know this, but if you make me human, I will be very sad. Spine, too. See, me and him, we’re in love, Jon.”

                He jerked a little in surprise but didn’t say a word. His gears whirred as he gripped the beam cannon tighter.

                “He doesn’t know that I know, but I know he’s going to ask me to marry him soon. He’s just terrible at keeping secrets, but he’s trying. Jon, I know you want things to be as they were, but, see, they can’t ever be. If we go back to being robots, we’ll remember that we were happy as humans and that’ll make us sad, forever.”

                The Jon shook his head. “But that’s silly. You can die now.” His photoreceptors didn’t quite look into her eyes.

Rabbit knew from experience that he was becoming upset and stepped closer and embraced him again. She put her chin on his shoulder and spoke to him very quietly and sweetly. “I know. The moment I understood what happened to me I knew that would happen, but Jon, what you can’t know is that being human is so wonderful, everything about it, even when Spine and I fight--and boy can we ever scream at each other!--it’s worth it.”

“But Pappy died and Miss Iris and The Second, The Third, The Fourth,” his voice wavered. “And when you and The Spine die I’ll be all alone.”

There it was. “We thought of that. While you were gone. We have a surprise for you. You’ll never be alone.”

“Never?” The Jon wept.

“Never. I promise. Do you trust me?” Rabbit released him from the hug. She smiled on him sweetly and stood just beyond point-blank range. She looked to the weapon then back to The Jon. His brows came together and he lifted the cannon up then dropped it to the ground where he brought his foot down on it, snapping it into four pieces. Crying loudly he picked up each piece and threw it into a different portal which opened and closed at his command. When they were all gone, The Jon wiped the oil from his face with his sleeve and hung his head. Rabbit opened her arms and he ran into them.

A few moments later, voices could be heard approaching the music room. “Jon, you’re about to get your surprise!” she chimed and he released him. “A mustached surprise!”

The Spine’s deep voice echoed in the hall, “Now, be careful. We can’t eat sandwiches that have been on the floor.”

“I know that, The Spine. I am more than capable of... Oh my gosh!” Hatchworth fumbled with the tray of leftover turkey sandwiches as the sight of Rabbit standing next to The Jon threw him for a loop. The Spine was already prepared to catch it and artfully did so as he came in behind him. His hair was streaked with blue and his skin was now shockingly pale.

“Look what I found!” Rabbit cheered.

“Jon!” The Spine shouted and grinned from ear to ear. “You’re back!”

                “The Jon!” Hatchworth imitated the way The Spine sounded. “I’m back!”

                “Hatchy...?” The Jon whispered and stepped forward. He looked from the automaton with the orange mustache to The Spine with his eerie Walter-coloration. He shot a glance at Rabbit as if to say ‘is this the surprise?’ Rabbit nodded, looking fit to burst with excitement. “Hatchy!” The Jon tackled his old friend. “You’re ok!”

                The Spine smiled. “Right as rain.” Rabbit jumped up and down in place and made happy squealing noises as she watched The Jon and Hatchworth exchange brotherly hugs.

                “What’s going on in here?” Peter Walter V asked as he entered the music room, followed by his Aunt Wanda and assistant Walter Girl Barbara. “Any sandwiches left for us? Oh! The Jon!” he said excitedly as he saw the small robot. “Welcome back! Oh man, did I miss the surprise?”

                “Sorry, Five, he sort of just popped in suddenly,” Rabbit shrugged.

                “Five,” The Spine said with a wink to his friend. “If you want, you can tell him the other surprise.”

                The Jon peeked around Hatchworth’s shoulder at the scientist. “Another surprise? For me?”

                “Sure, Spine,” Peter nodded. “Spine, Hatchy and I are working on a special project. We’re building the first modern-day automaton Walter Robotics has yet produced: a little sister for you and Hatchy.”

                The Jon reacted as a child who had just been given the exact thing he’d wanted for his birthday. He ran around the room hugging everyone, including Wanda Becile who stood stiffly, but allowed him to do it. “Thank you! I don’t know if I deserve it... I...” he said, his voice becoming soft.

                Rabbit put her hand on his shoulder. “Of course you do. You deserve happiness just as much as we do.”

                The Spine smiled slyly. “Speaking of happiness,” he said, reached out and took Rabbit’s hand in his. Rabbit let a small, knowing smile escape before pretending to be oblivious and naive again. “I don’t want to hide my feelings from everyone anymore.”

                “Me neither, Spine,” she agreed.

                “And I don’t want to share you with anyone, either.”

                “You won’t have to.”

                “Rabbit, will you marry me?”

                “Uhuh,” she said dreamily, forgetting to act, again.

                “ _Uhuh_?”

                “I mean, yes! Yes, I’ll marry you, Spine!”

                Hatchworth gasped. Peter folded his arms and smiled. Barbara squealed with delight. The Jon clapped his hands rapidly and Wanda Becile sighed melodramatically. “Well, it’s about flipping time!” she shouted.

 

                An impromptu party was thrown that night to celebrate all the good things that had happened that day. Rabbit and The Spine took a walk around the grounds and she confessed what had happened when The Jon arrived. Although The Spine was upset, he was glad that Rabbit had been able to handle it and that it was over.

               “Things will be better from now on,” she said. They paused and looked up at a waxing moon shining down on them. They held each other close in the chill of the November evening and totally believed that from the bottom of their hearts.

 

.x.

                May 28th, 2013, Balboa Park

                Three automatons sang and danced in the noonday sun, playing songs and entertaining people: The Jon in his red suspenders playing a mandolin, Hatchworth with his stovepipe hat had an upright bass and Upgrade in a poufy skirt with red crinoline sticking out held a melodica in her dainty hands. In the audience this day was an alternative-looking interracial couple in their fifties who sat on a park bench across from them, holding hands and looking like proud parents. When the set was over, the robots thanked the audience for dropping money in a box at their feet marked “Steam Powered Giraffe”. Hatchworth hissed and bent at the waist. “Oh, dear,” he said, but before he could complain, the man on the bench had sprung into action.

                “I got it, Hatchy,” The Spine said and went to work relieving the automaton’s glitch. His hair was now completely blue, shot through with white.

                “Great show, guys!” Rabbit clapped her hands and The Jon and Upgrade bowed to her. “Ready for some ice cream?”

                Upgrade picked up the donations box and shook it around. “It’s on us!” she chimed.

                “But we said we’d take you out!” Rabbit reminded her.

                Hatchworth straightened up and thanked Spine for the tune up. “It’s on us, today, fellows. Happy anniversary.”

                “Thirty four years ago today, you became human!” The Jon said.

                Rabbit and The Spine exchanged looks. “Well, I’ll be,” he said. “Well, thank you, guys. That’s really sweet of you.”

                “Sweet like ice cream! Oh, we should sing ‘Ice Cream Parade’!” The Jon suggested to his friends.

                “No, ding-ding,” Upgrade smacked him gently. “We’re going to sing _that_ song.”

                “Ohhhhh,” he said. “Which song?”

                Hatchworth closed his bass case and hefted it over his shoulder. He counted off, cuing The Jon to start playing. Upgrade began to sing. _“I only saw him once, but that was all I needed. And now I know he's what I've been dreamin’ of and only he will do.”_

                They started walking toward the ice cream shop. The Spine and Rabbit linked arms and allowed their friends to serenade them.

Hatchworth sang, _“I haven't slept for days. Can't focus on anything. She's always on my mind and God it'd be so kind if you could let me be.”_

The Jon took the next verse. _“For my entire life I never knew what love was like, but now I've felt its touch and it’s far too much for me to hold inside.”_

All of them sang the chorus as they walked along. The automatons fell back and let The Spine and Rabbit walk in front. _“Feels like I'm on top of the universe on a shootin' star. Life is so wonderful and everything is by far so spectacular...!”_

               

END

 

_"On Top Of The Universe" Lyrics by Christopher Bennett_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The sequel to this story is called “Run And Go With It” Please check it out! - aks


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